Wednesday, 3 December 2014

So it's the most glamorous time of year, with multiple opportunities for us ladies to adorn ourselves head-to-toe in glitter, sequins and bling galore.

For me, picking out something to wear for work's Christmas party or New Years Eve is the easy part. Make-up is where I usually struggle. Now you may remember a while back I reviewed the MUA Undressed Palette as well as some other MUA products in a haul that I did (which you can read here).

I waxed lyrical about the MUA palette because at only £4, it's a carbon copy of the Urban Decay Naked Palette in terms of shades, and the pigmentation is dense and rich.

So I decided to knock up a few eye shadow looks using the palette to give you some budget beauty inspiration.

You'll notice that the shades actually come in pairs made up of a matte shade and a metallic shade. Each of these looks consist of a pair, with the matte shade covering the lid all the way up to the crease, and the metallic shade blending outwards from the crease up, to create a winged shape. In all of these looks, I have used shade No.1 as a highlighter for just below my brow and the inner corner of my eye.

Shades 1 & 2

This is the gentlest of all the looks. Even though I use shade 1 as a highlighter most of the time, it also works really well on the lid, accompanied by shade 2. If you're going for a natural make-up look but want just a little bit of colour and highlighting, these shades are perfect. These icy pinks are great for both day and night winter looks.

Shades 3 & 4

This is a very gentle combo. I like to think of these shades as rose gold in hue. They add a little bit of warmth and depth to the lid but are at the same time are quite natural in tone. If you've got quite a dramatic outfit, something like this would work really well.

Shades 5 & 6

Everyone needs a bit of gold on them somewhere at Christmas, and gold make-up can be the perfect sparkly Christmas accessory. These shades are subtle, but work to add a warm glow to your eyes,

Shades 7 & 8

I like to think of this combo as a bronze smokey eye. Both the matte and the metallic are two differing depths of bronze, and they work so well together. This combo will look amazing on anyone with brown eyes, as it really makes them pop.

Shades 9 & 10

I love the pinky metallic with the chocolate brown here. The brown gives depth to the eyelid and the muted pink makes for a good contrast.

Shades 11 & 12

This look is one of my favourites. The metallic blue gives a nice twist to the smokey eye, and helps to create a defined wing. This is the most dramatic look of them all. This is a statement look, and would work well with a subtle and understated outfit.

The acronym grabbing the attention of everyone remotely interested in
make-up.

For me, it wasn't to much the products themselves that caught my
attention, but rather the buzzword 'bargain.' Having tested so many
beauty products, I've learnt that expensive doesn't always guarantee
you quality, and that there are some hidden gems to be found in
bargain brands.

So this haul all started when I signed up to The Sun+ online for £1
to receive a £20 Superdrug voucher (you should check it out, they
have amazing offers, and you can cancel the subscription shortly
after). Now we all know make-up can be expensive, and I wasn't
expecting the voucher to stretch very far, until I heard about MUA. I
walked away with a whopping 8 products!!

Undress
Your Skin Flawless Primer - £5

Primers are one of those products that cost a lot, yet the result is
very subtle. One of those products you convince yourself you can do
without. Now when I say subtle, I don't want to demean the importance of a primer. When you find a good one, you'll never be
without it. In regards to this particular product, it does do the job. It
creates a smooth, even and matte layer upon which you can apply your
foundation. This product gives you what you pay for, and no added
extras like colour correction or luminosity. It's not the best primer
I've tried, but I was really happy with the result considering how
much it cost. My only issue is that a little doesn't go a long way
like others I've used. The bottle's quite small, and you will go
though it quite quickly.

Undress
Your Skin Luminating Foundation (Medium) - £5

I
was really surprised by this foundation. I've never really got on
with high street liquid foundations. I usually find them too drying
for my skin and being olive toned, it's a right old hassle trying to
find a match. The first thing I noticed about it was how runny in
consistency it was. I saw this as a good thing, as the YSL and Estee
Lauder foundations I've used were of a similar consistency and were
very moisturising. The
shade was a perfect match so I didn't have to faff around with neck
and chin blending (I bloody hate that). Coverage wise, it wasn't as
matt as I would have liked, but MUA do a Matt foundation, so I can't
really complain. It left me with a nice and natural dewy look which
for Summer I think is perfect.

Gel
Eyeliner - £3

I actually used this gel eye liner before the Jane Iredale one that I
reviewed HERE so this was my first experience of it.
For me, gels have the best elements of both pencil and liquid
liners. You have the intensity in colour of the liquid, and the
control and precision of the pencil (depending on what brush you have
of course). The brush on this product is quite short and square,
which I really liked. The gel itself is more of a paste so you have
to make sure there aren't any lumps on your brush or you'll get in a
right state. To my surprise, there wasn't much smudging and my wings
lasted longer than if I'd used a pencil. I have actually almost
finished the pot, so for £3 this is more than a bargain, it's a
bloomin' steal.

Intense
Colour Eye Liner (Forest Green) - £1

I don't think there's much you expect from a pencil eye liner other
than vibrant, sharp lines that last. This pencil is creamy in texture
and has a gorgeous metallic, dark green hue that is perfect for
adding a bit of drama and depth to an evening look. Just a thin line
on the top lid is all you need. It also works well for blending with
eye shadows. Now that I know how brilliant they are, for £1 I'm
gonna get the whole lot. Oh, and the fitted sharpener in the lid is
soo handy.

Matte
Lipstick in Lilac Belle and Wild Berry - £1 each

I was so excited about trying these when I bought them. Now if you've
ever been to an MUA counter in Superdrug, you'll know they're always
an absolute mess ( which I can only put down to popularity). It's like
someone's set loose a fashion conscious yet penny-pinching honey
badger. So when I went to get the products, there were only a
scattered few of these lipsticks left, but luckily in the shades I
wanted. I thought Wild Berry was perfect for a moody red whilst Lilac
Belle was cute and kitsch. However I was a little disappointed. The
shade of Wild Berry once it's been applied differs quite drastically
to what you see. It's a much brighter red, which clashes with my
olive skin tone, but would definitely suit someone fairer. The Lilac Belle isn't as deceiving. I knew it would
be a risk choosing such a light shade, and it doesn't suit me as much
as I hoped. They also have that cheap, plasticy texture that means no
matter how hard you rub it on your lips, you barely get any colour.
I've managed to get some use out of them however by manually scraping off a bit of
lipstick and massaging it into my lips, and mixing
both colours together to get a wearable shade. For £1 I can't say
it's too much of a surprise, and I'm happy to continue using them the
way I have been.

Luxe
Velvet Lip Lacquer in Kooky - £3

When I saw the word 'Velvet' I knew I had to try this. I'm a sucker
for purple lips anyway, and I loved the pictures I'd seen all over
Instagram of matte lips. In the short term, this product doesn't
disappoint. The colour is gorgeous and slightly cooler in tone than
my MAC Cyber lipstick. It's wet to the touch at first but in a matter
of seconds dries to create a brilliant matte look which I adore,
despite the fact the coverage isn't as even as I'd like. Now this
lacquer is fine if you don't plan on eating/drinking anything whilst
wearing it. The first time I discovered this, I ended up with camo
style lips, and looked down to find most of the product on my burger.
Despite this, I do love this product. A cheap price to pay for quite
a dramatic statement, even if that statement does need a top-up or
two every now and then.

Undressed
Palette

I was very eager to try this palette as everyone's been raving about it.
If you're into reading beauty blogs then you've probably heard the
word 'dupe' thrown around a lot. If not, this basically refers to a
product that is very similar to a more expensive counterpart. In this
case, the Undressed Palette is the dupe for Urban Decay's Naked
palette. I've never tried the Naked palette but being a beauty blogger I've heard so much about it. The colours in MUA's palette are stunning, and I love how each matte shade is paired with a metallic. It saves you trying to figure out what colours work together (I mean, of course you can experiment,but for beginners this makes life so easy). The pigmentation is incredible for a product so cheap, and the shades blend together really well. I'm going to do a separate post just for this palette, so I can show you the variety of ways in which these shades can be used, so watch this space.

Until then, go grab yourself some major beauty bargains (if the stand isn't too much of a mess.)

Friday, 18 July 2014

After returning from holiday with the best tan I've ever had (sorry to boast), I'm really enjoying exploring make-up that compliment it.

Just recently, it was Jane Iredale's 20th Anniversary and to celebrate they released the Magic Hour collection. They were kind enough to send me some samples to try out, and I have been testing it for a few weeks, but never has it suited me as much as it does right now.

The collection consists of the brands new Jelly Jar Gel Eyeliner, Comfort In Touch Highlighter, Golden Girl Purepressed Eyeshadow Triple, and New Shades of Lip Fixation. Packed full of golden, warm and shimmery hues, this collection is a tan's best friend.

I've been playing around a lot with the Jelly Jar Gel Eyeliner because since using MUA's gel, I'm preferring it to liquid and pencil. Obviously Jane Iredale's is of a better quality and the brush that comes with it is perfect for applying thin, subtle wings. It dries pretty quickly so there's no smudging and you don't need a lot at all, so even though the pot is small I know it's going to last.

The Comfort In Touch Highlighter was in all honesty my first ever use of a highlighter, so I don't have much to compare it to but I soooo love it. It's subtler than blusher but with a more enhancing effect on the cheek bone area, reflecting light and adding an elegant shimmer. Just one stroke of the stick at the very top of my cheeks was enough to create this effect. Again, a small but long lasting and worthy investment.

As far as eye shadows are concerned, Jane Iredale's are as good as they come, especially when it comes to pigmentation. The three shades in the Golden Girl Purepressed Eye Shadow Triple work and blend so well together to create a golden and shimmery look that is perfect for both day and evening.

To finish this look off perfectly, all that's needed is a summery lip. Jane Iredale's New Shades of Lip Fixation has really surprised me. It's pink for a start, a shade I never thought I'd be found wearing. The pink half of the stick is rather watery in texture which worried me a bit when I first tried it, but once it's been applied it darkens, dries and turns matte. It's at this point that you add the peachy, translucent and shimmery gloss on top to create a lovely vibrant apricot lip that contrasts brilliantly with tanned skin, and in fact emphasizes it.

So head on out there and get your tan on, because make-up is much more fun with one!

Thursday, 17 July 2014

Seeing as I've been doing a lot of posts recently reviewing products that are suitable for the holiday season, I thought it was only fair that I did a post showing the products I took on holiday with me. I am god awful at packing lightly and am renowned among friends and family for having the biggest bag packed full of what I like to call 'just-in-case' items. There was a mountain of products I wanted to take with me, but we were only taking hand luggage which limits liquids to 100ml bottles, so I had to be very selective about what I took, and just pick items I knew I would struggle without.

Clinique Airbrush Concealer

Having looked up the weather before I went, and discovering it was going to be between 30° and 35°, just the idea of wearing foundation in that heat made me feel hot. However I wanted to take something, just to get rid of those dark patches and cover up any burnt bits, so this little concealer was perfect. Its light reflecting qualities made my skin look dewy and fresh instead of the beaten, weathered look created by lots of sun, sea and sand.

Clinique High Impact Mascara

It's always nice to dress up of an evening on holiday when you're going out for something to eat, and even if you're not intending to wear much make-up, a decent mascara can finish off a basic evening look perfectly. I've tried many mascaras since doing this blog, and so far Clinique's High Impact is my favorite.

MUA Gel Eyeliner

I've been testing this product for quite some time now ever since I bought a hauls worth of MUA products with the aim of doing an MUA haul and review post (which will be up shortly, promise) , so I won't go into too much detail about it just yet. Obviously the fact I took it on holiday with me is proof that I'm happy with the product. I do find liquid eyeliners can be a little bit too strong for the skin on my eyes - which is quite sensitive - and eyeliner pencils are too faint. So I'm fast becoming a fan of gel eyeliners, and since I'm a huge cat-eye addict, I couldn't go on holiday without it.

ArtDeco Peacock Coquette Nail Varnish

I knew I wanted to take at least one nail varnish with me, and I'm sure if like me you have a massive collection, you can understand how hard it was for me to pick just one. This particular nail varnish is from Art Deco's Autumn/Winter 2013 'Asian Spirit Western Feeling' collection which I loved. The reason I chose it is because it's such a chameleon shade. Depending on the light, it can range from a gorgeous turquoise to a forest green, and in some lights it even looks navy. There were points when I was laying on the beach and noticed my toenails were the same colour as the sea.

St Kitt's Herbery Face Cream

My skin has such a tendency to look dry, and I knew the Clinque concealer would not work to its best if my face wasn't moisturised. It's so important to keep your skin hydrated if you're going to spend hours in the sun like I did, and having just reviewed a few St Kitt's products and loving them, as well as the bottle being the appropriate size, I felt it was a perfect addition.

Nivea Powder Touch Underarm

This little beauty came in my Cosmopolitan Superblogger Masterclass goodie bag and is responsible for my new found love of roll-on deodorant. I had such a love/hate relationship with deodorant sprays and could never find one that suited me 100%, and it never occurred to me to try a roll-on, but seeing as this was a freebie I gave it a go. The main issue I had with sprays was that they dried out my skin, but this roll-on has nourished it back to health.

Mary Kay Limited Edition Retro Rose Cream Lip Colour

As a last addition to my planned evening make-up look, I took this lovely Mary Kay lip colour. Finding lipsticks that suit me is something I struggle with (god I do have a hard time of it ha) and reviewing the Mary Kay Hello Sunshine collection actually introduced me to the first set of lipsticks that worked with my skin tone and my hair colour. Obviously it's creamy and moisturising texture was an added bonus, and the dark yet warm shade added a sophisticated element to my make-up as a whole.

BVLGARI Omnia Crystaline Eau De Parfum

Due to being very picky about fragrances, I only have a handful of perfumes that I like the smell of, and at the moment this is my favourite. I received this as a free sample, and loved the fact that it was a miniature of the actual bottle and not a little phial, and that it was parfum and not eau de toillette. As it's parfum, I don't need a lot and the scent lasts for hours. I've had it months and I'm not even half-way through yet (by the way I sincerely recommend applying for perfume samples - a much cheaper way of having a large selection of fragrances, then buy the ones you really like). Due to it's size and of course how much I love it, there was no question about packing it.